A Big Surprise
by clacker
Summary: Jack finally gets to retire from the Air Force, but how should he tell Sam? And what do their friends think? Meant to be cute and funny :) Sam/Jack Vala/Daniel
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I hope you enjoy this story about Jack and Sam. I have about 3 chapters planned. I hope you like it!**

"C'mon, Daniel, you gotta help me with this!"

"Jack…"

"You're all sensitive and mushy and stuff, you should be great at this kind of thing!"

"Jee, thanks, Jack. I'm so flattered," said Daniel, rolling his eyes, feet propped up on his desk. Not that there was much room for them with all the stacks of ancient texts and relics that littered his entire office.

"I'm serious, Daniel," said Jack, stopping his pacing to look at Daniel, nearly tripping on an inscribed stone block. "I don't know what to do!"

"I really don't see what's so hard about all this."

"Oh really?" said Jack, crossing his arms. "And what would you say?"

Daniel sighed, exasperated. "I dunno, something like, 'Hey Sam, guess what? At 4:00 today I'm officially retiring from the Air Force. Let's have dinner!'"

"For crying out loud, Daniel, it's not that easy," said the soon-to-be former general, resuming his pacing around Daniel's cluttered lab, taking more care to avoid piles of books and random artifacts.

Daniel rubbed his forehead. "And why not?"

"Because this is a big deal!" exclaimed Jack, looming over the table at his friend. "Carter and I have waited, like, years for this day! Years! I don't think you appreciate just how huge this is. You can't just say something like this!"

"Well if you can't say it, how are you going to tell her?"

"Exactly!"

"Jack!"

Fortunately for Daniel's sanity, Teal'c entered the lab. "I heard your raised voices from down the hall. What is the nature of you problem, O'Neill?"

"Jack's retiring, and he doesn't know how to tell Sam."

"My congratulations, O'Neill. But, unless I am unaware of some Earth custom preventing conversation in such situations, would one not simply inform Colonel Carter of your decision directly? You have been seeing each other since her tenure at Area 51, correct?"

"You're right, we have, but it's not that easy, T," he sighed, flopping down on a stool and picking up a rock on Daniel's desk. "This has to be special, memorable." He started juggling some artifacts on Daniel's desk, only to have a paper wad thrown at him by an irate archeologist.

Teal'c pondered for a moment. "O'Neill, do you not remember when you and I were trapped in the time loop created by the time-traveling device of the Ancients?"

"Yeah, it sucked!"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "If you recall, O'Neill, you did make your feelings for Colonel Carter plain at the end of one time loop."

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Daniel, who had gotten distracted replacing all of the artifacts Jack had been messing with. "What did you do?"

Teal'c ignored him. "Would not a similar tactic be appropriate for this situation?"

Jack looked up and slowly grinned, an idea forming. Then, he abruptly leaped up, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. "Teal'c, you're a genius!" He rushed to the door, throwing on his jacket. "Is Carter working at 16:00 today? Nevermind, I'll talk to Landry. Be in the control room at 4! This is gonna be great!" he crowed, flying out of the room.

"Jack, wait!" called Daniel, "Are you sure you want to do this?" But it was too late. "Whatever 'this' is," huffed Daniel. He looked at Teal'c. "I don't suppose you want to tell me?"

"Do you think I would have suggested it had I not thought it appropriate, Daniel Jackson?"

"I trust you, I just don't know about Jack." He sighed. "Well, whatever it is, it'll be something else!"

Teal'c smiled, "Indeed." He left Daniel alone.

"So that explains the weird look he was giving her over his oatmeal…"

**Next time: gossip **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! This one isn't exactly my favorite, but I really felt like we should check in with Cam and Carolyn and get a glimpse of Vala. She's wonderful to write! I promise the next chapter will be even better :) Enjoy!**

Colonel Cameron Mitchell was in a good mood. He was on his way to the infirmary to visit Carolyn Lam. His girlfriend. His girlfriend, Carolyn Lam. Every way he phrased it in his head put a goofy grin on his face. Not that anyone on base knew about it. Their relationship wasn't prohibited, but when it came to gossip, the SGC was worse than high school. Plus, there was the small fact that her dad was Cam's boss. So they both agreed to wait a little while before telling anyone.  
He rounded the corner into the infirmary and looked around. Only she was there, poring over the chart of a recent patient. He crept up behind her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey honey, how's it going?" he said, giving her a hug.

She smiled and turned around, putting her arms around his neck. "It's been pretty quiet." She gave him a peck on the lips. "How about you?"

"Same," he replied, shrugging. "Boxed a little with Teal'c, annoyed Jackson, caught Vala stealing candy from the cafeteria, helped Sam with her motorcycle, the usual."

He leaned in and kissed her, making her giggle, so happy to finally be able to do that. They eventually broke apart.

"Oh, hey, did you hear the news?," said Carolyn. "Word's going around that something's happening in the control room at 4 this afternoon." She grinned, "Rumor is, Dad switched Sam to that shift last minute, and people keep saying they've seen General O'Neill around Dr. Jackson's office today out of his dress uniform. I think something big is going to happen!"

Cam just looked confused. "Like what? I don't get it."

"Seriously, Mitchell?" came an exasperated voice, "How oblivious are you?"

"Vala!" exclaimed Mitchell, jumping at the sight of the pig-tailed alien perched on one of the infirmary beds with a rather large rainbow lollipop. "How long have you been there?"

Vala rolled her eyes. "I've been following you since you let Sam's lab. And I wasn't even being that sneaky! You really need to work on your observation skills." She enthusiastically licked her lollipop.

Cam rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "Vala, why on earth would you— you know what, not the point here. Listen, you can't tell anyone about me and Carolyn. We don't want people bugging us about it."

Carolyn nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You know how fast gossip spreads around here. We really don't need that right now."

To their surprise, Vala just rolled her eyes. "Please! That's old news. I found out about you two ages ago." She laughed. "I probably knew about you two before you did."

Cam and Carolyn looked at each other in panic.

"Did you tell anyone?" he asked.

"Me? No, of course not! Did you?"

"No!" he exclaimed.

Carolyn turned back to Vala. "Vala, there's no way everyone knows about us. You must be mistaken."

Cam's eyes went wide with shock. "Jackson knows."

"What?"

"Jackson knows!" Cam sat down heavily on one of the beds/

"What makes you think that?"

"When I got shot a couple of missions ago he said that I sure got hurt a lot and asked why I wanted to go to the infirmary so badly. He had that annoying little smirk on his face. I thought he was just trying to distract me, but…" he trailed off, speechless.

"See? If someone as socially oblivious as Daniel knows, then everyone knows," said Vala, reclining on her own infirmary bed with a satisfied grin on her face.

"Okay," said Carolyn as she paced over to Cam. "We knew this would happen-"

"We did?"

"Yes. We did," she said firmly. "Well, at least this way they aren't pestering us about it."

Cam exhaled. "You're right. As long as they don't know that we know that they know, we're okay. I think."

"Well that was convoluted." commented Vala.

"What are you even doing here?" cried Cam.

She rolled here eyes. "Sheesh, I just wanted to know if you and Carolyn are going the big event at four today." She grinned. "I'm so excited!"

"What the heck is this thing at four today?" exclaimed an exasperated Cam, flopping back on the bed.

"Seriously, Mitchell? It's the biggest piece of gossip on base ever! It's been going on for over 10 years! How have you never heard of this?"

"I just got here a few years ago!"

"So did I, honey, but even I know," said Carolyn, smiling.

"And I've been here even less than that, and even I know!"

"That's because, unlike you, Vala, I know how to mind my own beeswax!" said Cam, sitting up and glaring at her. He almost looked like he was about to stick out his tongue at her.

"Mind your own.. beeswax?"

"It means minding your own business, staying out of it," explained Carolyn.

"Yes I know that," said Vala, rolling her eyes, "but when I've watched your earth sitcoms, it's a phrase used by small children or rather immature adults."

Cam looked ready to blow a gasket.

"Honey!" interjected Carolyn, stepping between the two. "It's okay. Don't you have a meeting with Dad soon anyway?"

Mitchell glanced at his watch. "Fine. I guess I should head up." He got up and gave Carolyn a quick kiss. "See you later," he said smiling at her. He headed out the door, throwing one last glare at Vala before he left.

Vala waved cheerfully back at him, causing him to growl in exasperation. As soon as she was gone, she turned to Carolyn excitedly. "Oh, that was too fun!"

**Next time: Vala and Daniel**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

Vala Mal Doran skipped her way down the halls of the SGC, pigtails bouncing and rainbow lollipop in hand. Everyone smiled as she came their way and waved hello to the bubbly alien. She grinned and waved back, inquiring after people's health and families. She knew almost everyone and finally felt like she had settled into her new home.

Vala had chatted with Carolyn for awhile after Cameron left, speculating about what might be happening at 4:00. She finally left when one of the soldiers came in for a post-injury check up. She was now headed back to Daniel's lab to see what he was up to.

She licked her lollipop half-heartedly. She wasn't going to be able to finish this one either. She had tried so many times to finish one of these and had never succeeded. She shrugged and handed it to a confused airman as she rounded the corner to Daniel's lab.

She entered the room to see the archeologist extremely flustered and rummaging through the piles of papers and artifacts that littered his lab. Vala didn't mind, but she still enjoyed teasing him about it. He insisted he knew where everything was, and Vala learned to let him embrace his delusion of "organized chaos."

"What's the matter with you?" she asked him and he angrily shifted the papers on his lab bench.

"Ja- Someone was here visiting me, and they moved things around, and now I can't find anything!" he growled.

"General O'Neill should know better that to touch your artifacts."

He sighed, "I swear he hides things on purpose, but—" he stopped, looking up at her, glasses askew. "Wait, how did you know that he…"

"Oh please, darling, you should know better by now. The whole base knows."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This place is worse than high school."

"You're the second person I've heard say that today," she commented. He continued making even more of a mess as he searched through the pile of books on the floor.

"What are you looking for?" she asked as he stopped his rummaging to lean against his desk and fix his glasses. He had removed his BDU jacket, and Vala thought he looked very nice in his black t-shirt.

"My book on ancient Egyptian dialects. I swear it was right there! Jack must have— what are you doing?"

Vala had walked over to him and was standing very close, looking into his eyes.

"Vala…" he said, not sure what to do as she stood on her tiptoes, reached behind him, and…pulled a book off the shelf above his desk.

"Is this what you were looking for?" she asked, innocently.

"Um," he cleared his throat, "Actually, yes. What made you think to look there?"

She smirked at him. "That's where you always keep it, Daniel."

"Oh, right," he said awkwardly.

She laughed and went to sit on his workbench by the text he had been working on translating. He went over and started flipping though the pages of the book, immediately absorbed in his work again.

"What are you working on?"

"Ancient Go'auld text. There's one character that's giving me a hard time—"

"This one?" she inquired pointed. When he nodded, she said, "That means 'land of beginnings.'"

He looked up at her, momentarily surprised.

She smiled, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. "Personal experience, remember."

He looked at her with sympathy and took her hand for a moment. Then, realizing what he was doing, he let go and resumed studying the text.  
"What about this one?" he asked, showing her a strange symbol.

"That one could have several meanings depending on the context…"

The entire SGC was abuzz about the event at four. Everyone was trying to guess what might happen, and the O'Neill/Carter betting pool was going crazy. As the designated time approached, everyone tried to find a reason to be in or near the control room. Scientists ordered special tests, and Siler and the gate crew ran diagnostics on every piece of machinery they could find. The rest of SG-1 headed to the control room. Vala talked excitedly at Daniel, Mitchell was still confused as no one would explain anything to him, and Teal'c had a smug look on his face. And to all of this, Samantha Carter was oblivious.

**Next time: the big surprise :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Last chapter! I know this was short, but I hope you still enjoyed it :) Thank you for reading!**

Sam was not having a good day. First, nothing was going right with her research. One of the new scientists messed up the experiment, so now they had to start all over again. Then, when she finally got to take a break and work on her motorcycle, Cam decided he wanted to "help". She finally got him to leave by hinting that the infirmary was mostly empty today. He still thought no one knew about him and Carolyn, silly boy. She decided to call Jack to see how his day was going, but when he answered, he sounded flustered and seemed eager to get off the phone, which confused her. It seemed to her that their admittedly unorthodox relationship had been going well. Living several time zones apart made it difficult, but she thought they were getting the hang of it. She hoped nothing was wrong. She had decided not to worry about it. She would just end up over-analyzing the situation and getting worked up for nothing. So she went back to work. Or at least tried to. After that, Landry called to tell her shift in the control room was moved up, and when she tried to talk to him about it, he shut her down and said she had to be there, no questions asked.

So there she was, in the control room, running diagnostics, bored out of her skull. She leaned back in her chair while the computer ran some tests and combed her hair back with her fingers. She'd started growing it out again, and it was just below her chin. She was liking how it looked, but sometimes it drove her nuts. It was long enough to get in the way, but still too short to tie back. She'd also tried bangs, and now they were getting too long and were hanging in her eyes. She knew she looked ridiculous, but she couldn't help staring at them and trying to blow them out of her eyes. And all of the talking was driving her nuts. If everyone would just be quiet, she could get some work done.

Wait. She froze. People. Lots of people. She looked up from the computer and down into the gate room. Everyone was suddenly very busy, checking charts and, trying to look occupied. They weren't very good at it. She could see most of the charts were upside down, and lots of people were chanting "peas and carrots" over and over, or just mouthing nothing at all. She tore her eyes from the gate room below and shifted her gaze to the rest of the control room. It was packed. People who had never even entered the room before were there, attempting to look busy. Weapons trainers were intently studying meaningless flashing lights, and the geologists were staring at a blank monitor as if it was their latest find off-world. Several SG teams were there, as well as scientists she knew, and some she didn't. The rest of her team was there too. As soon as Sam looked their way, Vala quickly turned and pretended to be intently studying the light switch. Daniel rolled his eyes at this and smiled reassuringly at Sam. Teal'c nodded at her, and Cam waved at her, looking confused.

She checked her watch. It was 15:55. As turned around to ask someone what the heck was going on, someone started to descend the stairs from the conference room. A hush to fell over the room, almost as if everyone had been waiting for this moment.

Each step seemed significant in Sam's mind, which was a weird and un-Sam like feeling. Three people came down the stairs one by one, their bodies appearing from the feet up. First was the familiar gait of General Landry. Then there was the equally familiar, yet more surprising shape of General Hammond. But the sight of the third person blew all the other surprises away. First, she saw an old, worn out pair of combat boots. Then an even more worn out pair of BDU pants, followed by a black, short-sleeved t-shirt and a familiar, silver-haired head.

"Hey Carter," said Jack smiling.

"Umm hi, sir."

After an awkward pause where Jack grinned at her and she smiled back confusedly, he cleared his throat. "Um, sorry about the crappy clothes," he said, looking down at his attire. "I would be wearing my civies, but ironically, the Air Force lost my luggage."

"Sir, it's great to see you," she said standing up. "But, um, what are you doing here? I thought you had meetings today?"

"What, you aren't glad to see your old CO?" he teased, causing her to grin. "Well you were right, but I rearranged my schedule a little bit. I think I'll let Landry explain." He turned to the general and handed him a letter. "Hank, do you mind?"

As the general unfolded the letter, grinning, Jack turned to face a still confused Sam, and Landry began to read. " 'According to his own wishes, and taking into consideration his many accomplishments in all his years of service, on this day at 18:00 hours-' "

"16:00 here," interjected Jack.

" '-General Jack O'Neill will be officially retired from the Air Force. He will still be a consultant for the Stargate program, but he will no longer serve as a general within that program.' Signed, President Hayes. 'P.S. "Go get her Jack." ' "

Jack's eyes never left Sam as the letter was read.

Sam looked stunned. "Are you sure, Sir? I mean, you love being in the Air Force. You shouldn't give that up for…" She looked down, leaving the phrase hanging.

Jack stepped closer so they were a few feet apart. "Carter, I've enjoyed my time in the Air Force. But I don't want to waste any more time. It's been long enough."

"Hear hear!" interjected a voice that sounded a lot like Daniel, resulting in some snickers and a number of assents.

Jack glared in that general direction, but then looked at Sam and continued, "Plus, being a consultant means I can still do all the fun stuff without being tied to a desk." Sam still didn't meet his gaze. "Hey, look at me Carter. This is what I want." He paused, a sudden look of panic on his face, "Is this what you want? Cause I didn't even think about- I mean- for cryin out loud-" She laughed at the look of fear on his face and nodded vigorously. He smiled, obviously relieved.

"Good. Hey Walter?" he asked, keeping his eyes on Sam. "How long til 16:00?"

"Already on it, sir," said Walter, smirking as he pressed a key on the computer, revealing a timer counting down to 4 pm on all monitors. "About 30 seconds, sir!"

All of the base personnel began to count down together. The whole time, Jack and Sam just stood there, looking at each other and smiling. They looked like they thought they were the only two people in the world.

"5…"

Mitchell looked around and counted down with everyone else, but he still looked confused.

"…4…"

Vala bounced up and down in excitement, squeezing Daniel's arm.

"…3…"

Daniel didn't even mind. He just smiled at her and returned his gaze to his two closest friends and whatever insanity Jack was about to pull.

"…2…"

Teal'c looked contentedly at his friends, the only one who knew what was about to happen.

"…1…"

Jack reached out and took Sam's hand.

"…0!"

The whole base cheered as Jack stepped closer to Sam, put one hand on her waist and the other on her neck, and kissed her. They roared louder as he dipped her and continued to kiss her. Sam looked a little startled at first, but she soon recovered and put her arms around his neck.

Still leaning over, they pulled away and grinned giddily at each other.

"Very dramatic, Jack," Sam said, still smiling. "Very well done."

"It was, wasn't it?" said Jack, rather pleased with himself. He gazed at her tenderly. "Just so you know, I love you, Samantha Carter."

Sam's eyes started to well up and she grinned. "I love you too, Jack O'Neill." She kissed him again. They stood up to the wild cheers of the base personnel.

Vala rushed up and tackle-hugged Sam. "Congratulations!" She squealed.

"Took you long enough," teased Daniel, smirking.

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c, wearing an uncharacteristically large smile.

"Thanks, guys," said Jack. Then, in a louder voce, he added, "Hey, everyone, I set up a little party in the commissary. Let's go eat cake and red and blue jello!"

Everyone cheered as he turned to Sam and held out his arm. "Shall we?" She placed her hand proudly on his arm. "We shall!"

Almost everyone headed straight for the party, including a rather pathetically confused Mitchell, comforted by Carolyn. But many who had been on the base for years, including the rest of SG-1, stayed as Walter pulled out an old, battered money box and a rather tattered notebook with a long list of names and dates and immediately started sorting through the long-standing betting pool. As it had grown, it had to be reorganized over and over to accommodate the large number of bets. Most of the people in the room had lost money a long time ago and were just curious to see who won. Daniel and, surprisingly, Vala did very well, but Teal'c blew them all out of the park, being the closest by far. Not that anyone was surprised.

"Congratulations, Teal'c," said General Hammond.

"Thank you, General Hammond."

"Remind me to ask you next time I make a bet," chuckled the general, who hadn't done very well, miscalculating by several years.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I help you cheat, General Hammond?"

"No, no," laughed the general. "More like, friendly guidance."

Teal'c nodded. "If I were ever to make such a suggestion, I might advise my friend to place his next bet quickly."

"What do you mean?" asked the general, confused.

Teal'c didn't respond, but merely glanced over at the crowd surrounding Walter.

General Hammond followed his gaze, his eyes finally locking on Daniel and Vala. She was jabbering happily at him as she counted her winnings as he responded and rolled his eyes. When she had safely tucked her money away, she grabbed Daniel's arm and pulled him to the door to head to the commissary. To the general's surprise, Daniel smiled tenderly at the back of Vala's head as he let her pull him out the door.

General Hammond looked back at Teal'c, surprised. "Really?"

Teal'c nodded solemnly.

"Has Dr. Jackson figured it out yet?"

Here, Teal'c smirked and shook his head.

The general grinned. "Here we go again!" he said as he headed straight for Walter, pulling out his wallet.

"Indeed," said Teal'c. And he left to join his friends before all the cake was gone.

**THE END**


End file.
